UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Wilmington College volleyball team concluded its 2018 season with a four-set victory over John Carroll University (JCU), defeating the Blue Streaks 25-20, 25-22, 13-25, 25-23 on Saturday afternoon.
The victory marked the second consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) victory for Wilmington after the program snapped a 59-match conference losing streak earlier this week. Despite finishing in a three-way tie for seventh place, Wilmington just misses qualifying for the eight-team OAC tournament on tiebreakers.
"Obviously, we would have loved to make the conference tournament," Head Volleyball Coach Tim O'Brien said. "All in all, I'm happy with the progression of our team this year."
Wilmington held JCU to a negative attack percentage while hitting a .138 clip itself in the set one win. In set two, the Quakers overcame an early 7-3 deficit to go up 2-0 thanks to a long service run from Jacie Koontz.
After dropped set three, the two teams were tied 20-20 in set four until two Blue Streak attack errors gave the Quakers a 22-20 lead. JCU would get within a single point on three different occasions, but the teams traded side outs and an attack error from Brooke Hjerpe gave Wilmington an OAC road victory.
John Carroll outhit .116 to .109 along with holding edges in kills (48-36) and service aces (8-4). Wilmington committed less errors attacking and serving.
Individually, JCU was led by Cassi Calamucci with 14 kills while Sarah Calabrese had 11 and Hjerpe 10. Wilmington countered with 10 kills from Jillian Wesco and seven from Karrah Wind. Summer Wilbur and Koontz combined for 26 assists for the Quakers while Ally Bartolone and Rachel Bleile combined for 40 assists for the Blue Streaks.
Defensively, Karley Schlensker, Wilbur and Taylor McCuistion all recorded double digits in digs for Wilmington. Caitlin Calamunci led JCU with 18 digs.
"I thought we played well today especially defensively," said O'Brien. "After losing the third set, we responded with one of the best offensively performances of the season."
Wilmington concludes its 2018 season with a 9-19 overall record, the program's best since the 2011 season. The Quakers also won two OAC matches, equaling the number the program has won the previous 18 seasons.
